On August 10, 1628, the Swedish warship, Vasa (or Wasa by some spellings) departed on what would become one of the shortest maiden voyages in history. The weather was calm, so all of her sails were fully deployed in a grand display for the thousands who were watching and celebrating along the shores of Stockholm Harbor. She was a majestic and extravagant ship, richly decorated from stem to stern, and was considered one of the most powerfully armed vessels in the world. Shortly after she departed the dock, the captain, Söfring Hansson, had planned to fire a salute to the king as they sailed out, so he had given the order to open the gunports. It was a proud moment in Sweden’s history!
However, twenty minutes into her inaugural sail, the Vasa encountered a wind no stronger than a breeze, but suddenly forced the ship violently over onto its port side, pushing the open gunports below the surface. The lower gundeck quickly flooded. To the shock of many witnesses, and only 400 feet from the shore, in the span of less than half an hour into her maiden voyage, the magnificent Vasa sank to the bottom of the harbor with a loss of 30 men! It was a horrific loss and an embarrassment to the king of Sweden, the Royal Navy, the ship builders, and all of its citizens.
The Vasa remained underwater for more than 300 years, until 1961, when the ship was successfully raised from the seabed in a remarkable salvage operation. Divers dug tunnels under the hull and passed steel cables through them, connected to lifting pontoons that carefully raised the ship to the surface. Once raised, the Vasa was preserved and painstakingly restored. Today, she is on display in the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, as a popular, historical attraction.
After years of extensive research, it was finally revealed that an error made during construction was the key cause to the sinking of the Vasa. Different construction teams had used different rulers! On one side, the shipwrights had used a Swedish Ruler, measuring 12 inches per foot, and on the other they used an Amsterdam Ruler, measuring only 11 inches per foot. The discrepancy resulted in an asymmetrical hull, with the port side being much heavier than the starboard side. The uneven weight distribution led to instability, ultimately causing the ship’s demise.
Using a wrong ruler wrecked a ship! We can draw an extremely important and serious spiritual application from this historical account: using a wrong ruler can wreck a soul! Jesus said, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.” (Mark 4:24) If we also add what Paul wrote in Second Timothy 1:13, “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus,” we can deduce that the Bible should be the standard of measurement for all spiritual things.
Paul also penned, *“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
And Peter wrote, “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,” (2 Peter 1:3). Thus, the Bible, and only the Bible, can give us the correct “dimensions” for life, godliness, and salvation. Not the words or traditions of men, nor any other books.
If one wants to save their soul and go to heaven, they must obey the will of God, “holding faith and a good conscience” by using the right “measuring tool,” the Scriptures. Otherwise, “by rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,” (1 Tim 1:19). Don’t make the mistake of using the wrong ruler! Using a wrong “ruler” can shipwreck your soul!